Arch-support.



W. M. SCHOLL.

ARCH SUPPORT.

APPUcATxoN FILED oc.|9. 1915A Patented Sept. 1251916.

UNXTED STATES WILLIAM M. SCI-IOLL, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

ARCH-SUPPORT.

Application led October 19, 1915.

To all lwhom t may concern.' Y Y Be it known that l, VILLIAM M. Sonor-L,a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county ofCook and State of 5, Illinois, have invented certain new and uscfulImprovements in Arch-Supports, of which the following is-aspecification.

My invention relates to improvements in footarch supporting appliances,and more particularly to a construction adapted especially to preventorto overcome falling of the transverse arch of themhuinan foot.

It not infrequently happens in medical p actice, that the transversearch formed Aby the anterior portion of the inetatarsal bones breaksdown, dislocating somewhat certain of the metatarsal-phalangealarticulations. This painful effect is sometimes found where the main orlongitudinal arch of the foot is not affected, and an object of myinvention is to provide a construction that may be used eifectually totreat, or to prevent, such cases of anterior metatarsal dislocation,without materially influencing the longitudinal arch.

In the drawings wherein l have shown an embodiment of my inventionFigure l is a longitudinal section through a supporting structureapplied to a shoe, showing` the manner of its use. Fig. 2 is a plan viewof my construction; Fig. Bis a transverse sec-' tion on line 3-3 of Fig.Q and Fig. 4 is a view of the metallic plate structure detached.

In the drawings l0 is a metallic plate, of suitable size and shape to belocated substantially wholly beneath the metatarsal bones of the foot,this plate having its forward edge curved, as at l1, convexly forsubstantial conformity to the curved line on which the heads of themetatarsal bones lie, and the plate tapering from its maximum forwarddiameter, at 12, preferably symmetrically to a narrow rear point 13. Longitudinally the plate is generally curved somewhat along its median lineas shown in Fig. l, and transversely it is arched as indicated insection in Fig. 3, the cnrvatures beinojgreater than the normaleurvatures of the esh of the foot so as to form hump 16, adapted to liebeneath the middle mctatarsal bones, just in rear of the heads thereof.Thisy plate is preferably secured, as by suitable rivets 14 adjacent itsfree corners, to a leather cover piece 15 that lits snugly in the heeland shank of the shoe and has its Specification of Letters Patent.

rama-eea sept. is, wie.

Serial No. 56,650.

forward end skived to lie neatly on the shoe sole.`

lnaddition to its normal transverse and longitudinal curvature thatgives to the appliance its normal transverse-archLsupporting` hump 1G(Fig. 3) facility is given for easy adjustment of the hump in altitudethroughout a considerable area bythe provision of slot l? in the plate.Most advantageously the slots may consist of a plurality of relativelylong,narro\.v openings 18 ar ranged in parallelism with the longitudinalmedian line of the late and havin@ their.

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forward ends located at points conforming to a forwardlybowed curve,there .being preferably a plurality of such slots 17 on each sideof thelongitudinal median line of plate being preferably left uninterrupted asat 19 throughout an area wider than the normal spacing between the slotson either side thereof. Back of this first line of slots I preferablyform a second line of shorter slots 17 which are preferably staggered inrelation to the first said slots, and that are arranged, preferably, toleave an uninterjthe plate and` the median portie. of the y rupted band2O between the two lines or l series of slots. By such .speciicarrangement the plate is made most readily susceptible to thoseincreases in height of the hump that in practice are most likely to' bemet with, as the easiest part of the plate to bend upward is the centralportion 19, which will lie adjacent the heads of the middle metatarsalbones and which is most apt to need elevation. This portion of theplate, however, may not readily be hinnp'ed into a. sharp or painfulangle, transversely, and the weakening of the plate in rear thereof(though to a less degree) by the provision of the shorter slots 17 makesthe metal tend to shape up in a smooth fore-andaft curve underhammering, but with less of a hump effect toward the rear end of theplate than tow its front end. The uninterf to there is a strongtendency, in use, for the plate structure to slide backward in theshoe.` rIhis is resisted by the abutment at the'rear end of the leathercover piece 15 against the counter of the shoe, but additionally Iprovide a retaining pin 22 having a sharp point 23 and a broad flat head24, the head located between the plate and the cover piece, and the pinextending through an opening 25 in the plate so that it may engage theshoe. The location of this pin is preferably adjacent the narrow rearend of 'the plate, adjacent the rivet-14, so that it may not interferewith the handling of the article in shaping of the plate, and so 'thatit is very positively retained in position, by the securing of theleather cover piece to the plate close to the location of the broad headof the pin.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

l. As4 an article'of manufacture, a support for the anterior metatarsalarch of the human foot comprising a leather cover piece adapted tounderlie the shank and heel of the human foot, and a metal 'platesecured thereto. having a broad forward portion curved in plan at itsend to conform sub.- stantially to the 4heads of the metatarsal bones'and tapering to its -rear end, said-A plate normally curved in sectionto provide atransverse hump. andhaving slots in the hump portionthereof, whereby the elevation shank portions of a shoe, and ametalplate of the hump may conveniently be varied.

2. As an article of manufacture, a leather cover piece adapted to fit inthe heel and secured thereto adapted to underlie the anterior portion ofthe middle metatarsal bones, said plate having a hump raised in theportion thereof to lie in rear of the heads 'fof said metatarsal bones,and said humped aportion having therein a plurality oflongihtudinalslots oneach side of a solid central .portion that is.widerthan the spacing between the slots on either side thereof.

3, As an article of manufacture, a leather cover Apiece adapted to fitin the heel and shank portions of a`shoe, and a metal plate securedthereto adapted to underlie the anterior portion `of the middlemetatarsal bones, said plate having a hump raised in the portion thereofto lie in rear of the heads of said metatarsal bones, and said humpedportion having therein a plurality of sets of slots, weakening the plateon two transverse zones, the slots being arranged to weaken the forwardslotted zone of the plate more than the slotted zone in rear thereof.

4. As an article of manufacture, a leather cover piece adapted to lit inthe heel and shank portions of a shoe, and a metal plate local to theportion of the` cover piece ahead of the highest portion of the insteparch and secured thereto to underlie the anterior portion of the middlemetatarsal bones, said plate having a hump raised in the portion thereofto lie in rear of the heads of said metatarsal bones, and said humpedportion having therein longitudinal slots having their front ends lyingin a line bowed forwardly in plan and means other than the cover piecefor positioning the article in a shoe.

5. As an article of manufacture, a leather cover piece adapted to lit inthe heel and shank portions of a shoe, and a metal plate secured theretoadapted to underlie the anterior portion of the middle metatarsal bones,said plate having a hump raised in the portion thereof to lie in rear ofthe heads of said metatarsal bones, and said humped portion havingtherein a plurality of sets of longitudinal slots, staggered in relationto each other. v 6. As an article of manufacture, a leather cover pieceadapted to fit in the heel and shank portions of a shoe, and a metalplate secured thereto adapted to underlie the anteriorl portion of themiddle metatarsal bones, said plate having a hump raised in the portionthereof to lie in rear of the heads of said metatarsal bones, and saidhumped portion having therein a plurality of sets of slots, arranged inzones separated by a transverse continuous strip.

7. As an article of manufacture, a plate for an arch support, ofgenerally .triangular shape, having its base-edge forwardly bowed, saidplate having a transversely humped portion and having thereinlongitudinal slots with their forward ends lying in a forwardly-bowedline.

In testimony whereof I hereunto set my hand in the presence of twosubscribing wit-

